Ontario, Ottawa chip in for $500M Toyota injection in plants

TORONTO – The Globe and Mail is reporting that Toyota Canada and the federal and Ontario governments will announce Tuesday a $500 million investment to upgrade the automaker’s two Ontario assembly plants.

Sources tell the Globe that the governments will invest about $60 million each.

The announcement is to be made at the company’s plant in Cambridge by Gary Goodyear, federal minister of state for science and technology, and John Milloy, Ontario’s minister of training, colleges and universities.

Sources say Toyota is considering upgrading its paint shop at the plant in Cambridge, which assembles the Toyota Corolla and the Lexus RX350 crossover utility vehicle.

The projects could lead to increased production in Cambridge and at a nearby plant in Woodstock that assembles the RAV4 crossover, the sources say.

A federal government source says the investment could lead to more jobs at the two plants, which now employ about 6,500 people.

The announcement comes as Toyota struggles to get the two Canadian plants back to full production following the March earthquake in Japan, which severely disrupted the operations of parts suppliers there.